Publix Strikes Again: Fresh Basil

    I have not been very successful with herb growing in the past but decided after a recent trip to CA to try one more time. "Aim small, miss small" was my motto. (Think "The Patriot" movie). The scent of rosemary in SHRUB size in Lodi, CA, was my motivator. What a magnificient fragrance. My little rosemary is doing well since early summer, so I wanted to move on to add basil. This week Lowe's did not have any basil and said I wouldn't be able to get it until next spring. Then I went to Publix. Yep, there it was. 
    This is a delicious and different sort of pasta salad which is greatly enhanced by using fresh basil, a pasta salad even my husband likes. He is sort of like his brother-in-law, Mark, who generally says about pasta: "I like mine hot and with cheese." A friend from west TN shared this with me some years ago. Never a bite tossed in the trash. Very compact, too, so remember it for your tailgating this fall.

Orzo and Wild Rice Salad

1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice, cooked according to pkg. directions

1 1/3 cup orzo (uncooked), cooked according to pkg. directions

¼ cup olive oil                           

1 Tbsp. sugar

¼ tsp. oregano

salt & pepper

¼ cup white wine vinegar 

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp. fresh minced basil (or more)

 ½ cup dried cranberries

 chopped fresh parsley

1 or 2 - 11 oz. cans white shoepeg corn

pine nuts, toasted

1 bell pepper, chopped

Cook rice and pasta as each pkg. suggests. Drain pasta thoroughly. Prepare dressing while rice and pasta are cooking. Combine all ingredients and chill several hours or overnight.